My son got accepted into Freshman Engineering. We are looking at housing options, which have changed considerable since I was at Clemson. Below are the options we’re considering:
-RISE LLC program (Bynres/Lever) - is this worth the extra $500? He will likely be in Tiger Band so will have a busy schedule, so I’m not sure if he’ll have much time for RISE activities. Also, West Campus is not as convenient for student activities.
-Shoeboxes - good location on East Campus (closer to Fresh Food dining hall, Death Valley, Littlejohn, intramural fields, etc) and better student interaction with the community bathrooms
-Holmes/McCabe - nicer dorms in a great location, but with the suites, may not be as social. There appear to be several LLCs in these dorms as well, so if he’s not in one (RISE would be only choice), would he be out of place?
We’re not looking at Core Campus this year due to cost (after all, he’s only a Freshman 
Any thoughts would be welcome.
I went on an Engineering Tour yesterday. Here’s what I got out of it as far as housing is concerned.
Rise - I was unfortunately not able to visit RiSE, but the tour guides talked a lot about it. They said that the atmosphere is very academic. The RiSE dorm is a really great opportunity if you want to surround yourself with a lot of other engineering majors. There are a lot of reasons why that would be beneficial. There are a few RiSE specific classes that are only open to students that live in this LLC. But, I do not think that you are at a disadvantage if you do not live there. There are so many engineers at Clemson, so I do not personally believe that it will be difficult to find help for a particular subject if you need help. The only negative thing I ever heard anyone say is that the fact that you are surrounded by the same people in your dorm and in classes, and that fact can make it more difficult to really branch out. But because your son is joining the TigerBand, I don’t think that will be an issue.
Is it worth the $500, I would say yes. Just because I think the sense of community is very special just because you spend so much time with those people.
Shoeboxes - Great location. And closer to a lot of the engineering buildings. The tour guides said that they all had a community style dorm their first year in college, and loved it.
Holmes/McCabe - I believe that Holmes and McCabe are the most bang for your buck. But, for that reason, a lot of people are going to want them. I think they will be the most competitive, even more competitive than Core. I personally like the suite style better, and they are right in the same area as the Shoeboxes and Core.
All of these are great options.
I hoped some of that information helps. I am also going to be a Freshman Engineering Major next year. Best of luck in your decision.
I have heard from many engineers that they like living near others in their classes in the RISE community.
Suites are generally not quite as social as dorms with a hall bath.
One more thing that may or may not be important, in the suite style rooms (Holmes and McCabe) you are responsible to clean your own bathroom. In the high rises, they are cleaned by the university.
Thanks for the responses; more thoughts to consider. We paid our admissions deposit today, but the housing/dining signup website seems to be down. Will check back later.
Hi, my son got accepted to first year engineering as well.
We have been looking at the housing options, and he thinks RISE will be a good choice for him. He has paid admission and housing deposits… and has done the lifestyle preference qestions and a housing profile on the website. We are looking forward to seeing how the housing process goes!